Embossing machine



June 5, c c MGCAIN ausossm MACHINE ori inal Filed July 10, 1929 6Sheets-Sheet 1' (e e, ema d n zmca June 1934. C. MQCAIN.

Emsossme MACHINE Original Filed July 10, laz

6 Sheets-Sheet 2 J1me 1 c. c. McCAIN EMBOSSING mdximm Original Filed Julylo, 1929 s Sheets-sheaf, s

June 5, 1934. b. c. MccAlN 1,961,156

Emsos snie IJIACHINE' Original Filed .1513; 10.- 1929 s sheets-Sheet 5June 5, 1934. c. 0. menu Q 3 L 5 EMBQSSING MACHINE Original Filed July10, 1925 s Sheets-Sheet e mumlnlnllllml Patented June I 5, 1934 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE Cecil 0. McCain, Glen Ellyn, Ill., assignor toAddressograph Company, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of DelawareOriginal application July .10, 1929, Serial No. 377,248. Divided andthis application February 12, 1931, Serial No. 515,290 I 24 Claims. (Cl.197-65) This application is a division of my application, Serial No.377,248, filed July 10, 1929, Patent No. 1,893,463, patented January 3,1933.

This invention relates to embossing machinesand more particularly tomachines of the character employed to emboss type characters on theprinting plates or printing devices.

One-of the objects of my invention is to provide a novel embossingmachine wherein the m embossing devices will be supported in a normallystationary member which may be rotated to position selected embossedcharacters in embossing position upon operation of a selected one of thecontrol members.

Another object is to provide an embossing machine wherein certainportions of the mechanism may be shifted relative to the embossingdevices.

A further object is to provide different sets of embossing deviceswhereby a device of either set may be positioned to operate on aprinting plate as determined by the operating members of the machine.

In the selected embodiment of the invention, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of the front of a printing plate embossingand replacing mechanism embodying the invention;

Fig. 1a is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line1a-la on Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the general arrangement of the parts andmechanisms of Fig. 1;

Fig. 2a is a detail section of the safety connection between the powershaft and the mechanism;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged front elevation of the embossing mechanism, theplate carriage mechanism having been removed and the frame table beingshown in section substantially as indicated by the line 33 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, showing theplate carriage in embossing position;

Fig; 4a is, a detail section on the line 4a.-4a of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail section on the staggered line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5a is a detail vertical section onthe line 5a5a of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5b is an enlarged detail of the die carrier holding mechanism shownin Fig. 5a;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the staggered line 66 of Fig. 3;

Figs. 6a. and 6b are enlarged details of the key operated parts of thecase shifting mechanism; and

Fig. 6c is a detail perspective of the case shift locking key.

The. machine shown in.the drawings Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4,5 and 6 has anupstanding arch shaped frame I mounted upon a table 2 which is supportedby suitable legs 3. The front portion 4 of the table is inclineddownwardly and has an opening 5 for the bank of operatingv keys 6forming the key board. 'The die head or carrier A, which carries theembossing dies, is positioned in the central portion of the arch shapedframe (Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4) and is mounted on a vertical spindle 8 torotate in a horizontal .plane. The spindle is journaled in suitableupper and lower bearings 9 in the frame and is driven by means of thebeveled gears 11 and the spur gears 12 and 13 from the belt drivenpulley 14 (Figs. 1, 2 and 4). One of the beveled gears 11 and the spurgear 12' are mounted on a short shaft journaled in suitable bearings 15on the frame. The pinion gear 13 is mounted on the main shaft 16journaled in the frame, and this shaft-carries the pulley 14 which isdriven by the belt 17 from a suitable driving motor 18 attached to thelegs of the frame beneath the table.

A clutch 20 forms a driving connection between the beveled gears 11 andthe spindle 8. This clutch may be of any suitable type for the purposeand needs no further description except that it is preferably soconstructed that when the die carrier is not restrained againstrotation, as hereinafter described, the clutch will drive the spindleand die carrier at uniform speed. However, when the die carrier isrestrained against rotation the clutch members will simply sliprelatively to each other thus permitting the power shaft to runcontinuously.

The die carrier A is comprised of two cage members A and A (Figs. 3 and4) keyed to the spindle to rotate in unison therewith. They are spacedapart one above the other to permit the printing plate blank B to bepositioned therebetween. The upper cage member A carries the 100 dies Cand C and the lower cage member carries the complementary punches ordies D and D. These die members are arranged in two annular concentricseries in their respective cages and are mounted to slide vertically inradially disposed 105 slots, with the dies C and C in the upper cagevertically alignedwith the corresponding punches D and D in the lowercage, and each die member is provided with a small notch which isyieldingly engaged by a small spring 21 (Fig. 4) to yieldingly 1'10 holdthe die members in their upper or withdrawn position. In the presentstructure I provide the two series of pairs or sets of die members, onefor embossing lower case letters or characters and the other forembossing upper case or capital letters. The outer series, comprisingthe dies 0 and D, constitute the sets for embossing the lower caseletters, while the inner series, comprising the dies C and D, constitutethe sets for embossing the upper case or capital letters. The printingplate blank B, which is being embossed, is shifted radially with respectto the inner and outer series, as hereinafter described, for the purposeof embossing upper or lower case letters. m

The die members are operated by power driven rocker arms and 26 (Fig.3). The upper rocker arm is pivoted at 27 to one side of the frame andits inner end is connected to the rock shaft 28 by the toggle links 29.The rock shaft 28 is journaled in the upper portion of the arch frameand extends to the rear side thereof (Fig. 4) where it is connected byanother toggle mechanism 30 and the link 31 to an eccentric 32 (Fig. 2)on the main shaft 16. The lower rocker arm 26 is pivoted at 34 to oneside of the frame and extends across beneath the die carrier where it isconnected by a short link 35 to a crank 36 on the forward end of themain shaft 16 giving a short intermittent stroke in time with the upperrocker arm. The upper rocker arm is timed slightly in advance of thelower rocker arm 26 so that the upper die will be in position againstthe printing plate blank in time to receive the lower die member orpunch. The rocker arm 26 has an integral depending yoke portion 26' andthe lower end of this yoke and also the rocker arm has bearings for thepressure rod 37 which transmits pressure to the punches. This pressurerod is longitudinally movable in said bearings, and a heavy coil spring38 surrounds the pressure rod and is positioned between the collar nuts39 on the rod and the yoke 26. This compression spring constitutes asafety device which will transmit the required operating pressure to thedie members, but which will yield in the event that the dies becomejammed by some abnormal condition, thereby preventing damage to thedies. The end of the upper rocker arm '25 carries an anvil 40 whichbears upon either one or the other of two shuttles 41, depending uponwhich one of these shuttles is positioned in line with the anvil on thedownward stroke thereof. There are two of these shuttles (Figs. 3 and 4)one for the dies of each series. The pressure on the shuttles istransmitted to the corresponding die members by means of the fingers 42,which are aligned with the respective shuttles and dies.

The fingers are pivotally mounted at 43 (Fig. 3) on the shuttle arm 44and are acted on "by springs 45 which swing the fingers upwardly clearof the dies after each embossing operation. The shuttle arm 44 ispivotally mounted at one end on the same pivotal axis 27 as the rockerarm 25 so it will swing about said pivot tofollow the movement of therocker arm and maintain the shuttles and fingers in operating relationto the anvil. The arm 44 has an extension 46 carrying a screw 47 whichengages the frame and serves as an adjustable stop to limit the upwardmovement of said arm. The shuttle arm 44a1so has another extension 48reaching to the other side of the frame and a spring 49 is connected tothis arm and to the frame for swinging the arm 44 upwarly after eachembossing stroke. The

shuttles 41 slide horizontally in suitable guideways on the arm 44, tomove them into and out of position with respect to the anvil. Springs 51are connected to the arm extension 48 and to the shuttles to move theminto position beneath the anvil 40. The dies are retracted into normalposition after each embossing operation by means of the hooks 42 carriedby the lower edge of the arm 44 (Fig. 4). The ends of these hooks engageelongated notches in the sides of the dies which allow the dies to movefreely downwardly but which engage the ends of the notches and retractdies on the up stroke of the rocker arm.

In the case of the lower series of punches the anvils 52 slidevertically in suitable guideways in a cross member 53 of the frame(Figs. 3 and 4) and the upper ends of these anvils engage elongatednotches 54 in the edges of the die members for withdrawing the diemembers after each embossing operation. These anvils are withdrawn byfinger 55 which pivots at 56 on the rocker arm 26 (Fig. 3) and isactuated by spring 57. The guide 58 (Fig. 3) for the lower shuttles 41is mounted on the end of the pressure rod 3'7, hereinbefore described,and is itself guided in a slot 59 hi the rocker arm 26. At one side ofthe arch frame is a pair of rock levers 60 and 61 which are pivotallymounted at 62 on the frame and intermediate their ends. The upper endsof these levers are connected by the links 63 to the upper shuttles.Below their pivots the rock levers are connected by links 64 to thelower shuttles, so that the swinging of these levers 60 and 61 abouttheir pivot operates to slide the upper and lower shuttles out ofengagement with the anvils. The lower ends of rock levers 60 and 61 arenormally held against movement by the end 65 (Fig. 3) of a bell crank 66which is pivoted at 67 on the end of a depending arm 68 on the underside of the frame table. The end 65 of the bell crank normally holds therock levers 60 and 61 in the position in which the lever 61 is shown inFig. 3; that is, in a position to maintain the shuttles out of line withrespect to the anvils. Thus the rocker arms may oscillate or vibratewithout operating the dies. When the bell crank is operated to retractits end 65 the levers 60 or 61 will be operated by the springs 51,hereinbefore described, to move the shuttles into operating relation totheir respective anvils. The lower arm 66 of the bell crank extends to apoint beneath the lower end of the vertical spindle 8, and its end isconnected to the projecting end of a stem 68 which is vertically movablein the lower tubular end portion of the spindle 8.

The operation of this stem is controlled by the keys 6 in the keyboard,as will be presently described. The stem 68 is slidable in a bushing 69in the lower end of the spindle and the upper end of the stem has anenlarged head 70 which slidingly fits in the tubular portion of thespindle. The spindle has a hub 71 carrying a radial striker arm 72 whichcarries a trigger '73 pivotally mounted at 72' on said arm and havingone end extending through an opening 74 in the side of the spindle (Fig.4). This end of the trigger is normally held in the path of the head 70of the stem and engages the end of the head to prevent the stem fromsliding upwardly in the spindle. The radial striker arm 72 carried bythe spindle sweeps around with the rotation of the spindle above anannular series of key stops 75 which are normally held retracted or outof the path of the arm. When, however, a stop is projected upwardly intothe path of the striker arm, the outer end of the trigger reaches thestop slightly in advance of the striker arm and is rotated on the pivotto release the head 70, allowing the stem to slide upwardly in thetubular spindle. This permits the bell crank to swing on its pivot andretract its upper end 65 which in turn allows one of the rock levers 60and 61 to operate as hereinbefore described. The striker arm comes to astop against the projected key stop and, as hereinafter described, aregister stop engages the die carrier and holds the die carrier againstrotation until another key is depressed. In the meantime, however, thekey stop is restored at the end of the embossing cycle. In order toenable the same character to be repeated, even though the die carrierisheld in the position corresponding to said character, I provide theend 73' of the trigger and the upper ends 75' of the key stop (Figs. 4and 4a) with beveled faces. Upon a second or repeated depression of thesame key, these beveled faces act to rotate the trigger 73 about itspivot and again release the stem 70 whereupon the second embossing cycleof the same character is brought about in the same manner as broughtabout by the depression of any other key.

It is obvious that both of the levers 60 and 61 should not be operatedat the same time because they would bring both sets of shuttles intoposition and cause the simultaneous embossing of the upper and lowercase letters. For this reason I provide a case shift mechanismcontrolled by a shift key 6' in the keyboard (Figs. 6, 6a, 6b and 6c) Astud is fastened to the frame and extends horizontally between the lowerends of the rock levers 60 and 61. Its outer end portion has parallelflat faces on both sides. A sleeve 81 is rotatably mounted on this studand its end is cut away for most of its circumference so as to provide asegmental extension 82 (Fig. 60) which is positioned to engage the endsof the levers 60 and 61 and prevent their movement even though the end65 of the bell crank has been retracted. The end of this segmentalextension is not wide enough, however, to engage and hold both of therock levers 60 and 61 at the same time. It is normally in position,however, to hold the upper case rock lever 61 from operating, and topermit the operation of the lower case lever 60 upon the retraction ofthe end 65 of the bell crank. Thus each time the bell crank is operatedthe lower case lever 60 will operate to bring about the operation of thelower case dies. When an upper case letter is to be embossed the sleeveis rotated to the position shown in Fig. 61) by the operation of theshift key 6'. When thus rotated the end of the segmental extension 82 isremoved from the path of the lever 61 and moved into the path of thelever 60, thus permitting the lever 61 to operate upon the retraction ofthe bell crank end 65 and prevent the operation of the lower case lever60. The sleeve 81 has two arms 83 and 84. The arm 83 is connected to aspring 85 which is anchored to the frame, and which normally holds thesleeve in the position shown in Fig. 6a, thus permitting the normaloperation of the rock lever 60. The

other arm 84 is actuated by a rod 86 to rotate the sleeve to theposition shown in Fig. 6b when the shift key is depressed. This push rod86 is connected to one arm of a bell crank 87 pivoted on the frame andhaving its other arm connected by a link 88 to the end of the shift keylever 6" (Fig. 6).

The end of the stud 80 projects beyond the segmental extension 82 of thesleeve 81 and has a pivoted spring actuated latch 89 (Fig. 3) whichengages either one of the two notches 90 (Figs. 6a. 6b and 60) to lockthe sleeve in its normal position or its rotated position. The end ofthis latch extends downwardly in position to be engaged by the end 65 ofthe bell crank 66. The end 65 of the bell crank normally holds the latchout of engagement with either of the notches 90 but when the bell crankretracts its end 65 in response to the operation of the key, ashereinbefore described, the latch enters one of the notches 90 and locksthe sleeve 81 against rotation. Upon the restoration of the bell crankto normal position its end 65 engages the latch and releases it from thenotch 90. If the sleeve 81 had been previously rotated by the operationof the shift key 6', the release vof the latch 89 permits the sleeve 81to return to its normal position (Fig. 6a).

All of the key levers including the shift key levers 6", extendforwardly the same distance and each lever carries a hook 91 whichengages the edge of a spring actuated locking bar 92 (Figs. 5 and 6) tohold the key and its lever down until the locking bar is actuated torelease said depressed key. The shift key may be maintained in depressedposition independent of the locking bar 92 by means of the usual shiftkey lock 6" for repeating the embossing of upper case characters.

The extension 48 of the arm 44 (Figs. 1, 3 and 5) has a downwardlyextending arm 100, the lower end of which is turned laterally andfastened to the upper end of a vertical push rod 101, so that the pushrod is reciprocated constantly by the vibration of the arm. The lowerend of this push rod is guided in a suitable bearing in the frame table(Fig. 5). This rod 101 carries a cam 102 which is engaged'by a roller103 on the lever 104 pivoted on the shaft 105 on the frame. The rollerend of this lever 104 is normally maintainedin operative relationto thecam 102 by means of the spring 106 which is anchored at one end Q to theframe and atthe other end of a short arm on said lever (Fig. 5). An armof lever 120 which is pivoted on shaft 105 extends downwardly and isconnected to one end of a link 107. The other end of the link 107 isconnected to the upright one of a three-arm releasing device includingshaft 109 mounted below the keyboard. The arm 110 of this three-armdevice extends to a point adjacent the lock bar 92 in position toactuate the lock bar and release any of the depressed keys held thereby.The arm 111 of the threearm device engages a roller 112 on the pivotedarm 113 of the restoring bar 114. The restoring bar 114 extendstransversely of the keyboard the entire width thereof and is positionedbeneath be operated independently of the arm 120 by means of the handlever 115 which is pivoted at its lower end on shaft 109 and which hasits upper end positioned in engagement with the upright arm of thethree-arm device. The link 107 has a telescoping portion 107' formingthe slip joint which permits the three-arm device to be operatedindependently of the link.

Each. time the dies are operated, the rod 101 is moved downwardly,lowering the cam 102 and allowing the roller 103 to ride thereon. Thelever 104 has a pin 116 (Fig. 5) which swings the upper end of a triprod 117 into the path of a lug 118 carried on the end of a short armextension 119 (Fig. 3) of the rocker arm 26, so that the trip rod 117will be pushed downwardly by said lug. When thus pushed downwardly itactuates the lever 120 and restores the key through the medium of link107 and the three-arm device just described. The trip rod is slidable inbearings in a U-shaped member 121 which is pivoted on the lever 120. Acoil spring 122 surrounds the trip rod between the lower bearing ofmember 121 and a collar on the rod. The spring serves as a shockabsorber to the blows on the rod by the lug 118. When the trip rod isreleased by the return of the lever 104, the trip rod will be removedfrom the path of the lug 118 by the spring 122 connected between thetrip rod and the short arm on the lever 104, and the lever 120 will bereturned to its normal position by the spring 123 connected to saidlever and to the frame.

The lever 120 is pivoted on shaft 105 and operates, on downward strokeof push rod 117, a lever 124 through the medium of the link 125 which isconnected to said lever 120 and extends downwardly into engagement withthe lever 124. The lever 124 is positioned beneath the table and ispivoted at one end to the frame. Its other end 126 is connect-ed to theend of the arm 66 of the bell crank 66 (Fig. 3) so that the bell crankwill be restored to normal position after each cycle of operation of theparts, as hereinbefore described. The restoration of the bell crank 66retracts the stem 68 in the lower end of the spindle and restores thetrigger 73, thus restoring the parts for the next embossing operation.

The radial arm 72, as hereinbefore mentioned, sweeps in a horizontalpath above the ends of the key stops '75. These key stops.(Figs. 3 and4) are arranged in circular series and slide vertically in suitableguides in a guide member 130 mounted in the frame table. Each one of thekey stops '75 is connected to a key lever 131 which carries a key 6 inthe keyboard. The stops are normally held down in their guides by thesprings 132 but are projected upwardly upon the depression of a key,into the path of the radial arm 72 so that they stop the rotation of thedie carrier with the dies in embossing position corresponding to thedepressed key.

In order to lock the die carrier against rotation and to register thedies while the embossing operation takes place, I provide a registerstop 135 (Figs. 3, 5a and 5b). This stop is moved into engagement withregister notches in the edge of a flange 136 around the periphery of thelower die cage A2. The register stop is slidable in a suitable guideblock 137 on the frame. It is moved into and out of engagement with theregister notches of the die carrier by a lever 133 to which it ispivoted by means of the pin 139 (Figs. 5a and 5b), the pivot pinextending beyond the lever. The lever 138 is pivoted on the shaft 140and this shaft 140 carries a small bell crank 141. The end 142 of onearm of this bell crank engages a pin 143 on the lever 138 and when .thebell crank is rotated it swings the lever 138 about its pivot andpermits the register stop 135 to bev projected into engagement with adie carrier notch by the spring 144 which is connected between the upperend of the lever 138 and the bell crank 141. The bell crank 141 isoperated by the extension 48 of the upper arm 44 through the medium of alink 145. The link 145 has a pin and slot connection 145' with theextension 48 which permits the arm 44 to vibrate without affecting theregister stop 135 as will appear hereinafter. These parts are soproportioned that the register stop engages the die carrier slightlybefore the dies come together to emboss the printing plate. This can bedone, of course, because the rotation of the die carrier will alreadyhave been stopped by the key stop '75 hereinbefore described. When thearm extension 48 moves upwardly after the embossing operation iscompleted, the spring 141, unless otherwise restrained as hereinafterdescribed, will swing the bell crank into engagement with the pin 143 onlever 138 and operate lever 138 to withdraw the register stop 135. Thiswould release the die carrier for rotation and the die carrier wouldthen continue rotating until another key is depressed. In other wordsthe depression of a key would stop the rotation of the die carrier for aperiod long enough to complete the embossing operation in response tosaid key, but the die carrier would be rotating idly during the periodsbetween key operations. This is a disadvantage in machines of thischaracter because it limits the speed at which the embossing operationscan be performed. For instance if a character is to be embossed twice insuccession, the second embossing operation must wait until the diecarrier has made one complete revolution after its release from thefirst embossing operation of said character.

In the present machine I provide means for holding the die carrieragainst rotation during idle periods between embossing operations.

In this machine the die carrier is released for rotation by thedepression of a key, and when it reaches the stop corresponding to thedepressed key the embossing operation takes place but the die carrierwill be held stationary until the key is depressed. If the next keydepressed happens to be the same key as the one last operated, for thepurpose of repeating the same character, the die carrier will not rotatebut instead will remain stationary through said second embossing cycleof the same character. The holding of the die carrier is accomplished bya locking lever (Figs. 3, 5 and 5a) pivoted at 151 on the frame. At oneend this locking lever has a lateral pin 152 which is moved by the lever150 upwardly into position behind the pin 139 of the register lock 135when said register lock is in engagement with the die carrier, thismovement of lever 150 being brought about by the spring 153 which isconnected between the pin end of said locking lever and the extension 48of the arm 44. This holds the register lock 135' in engagement with thedie carrier until it is released by the depression of the next key. Therelease of the register lock is accomplished by a lever 154 (Fig. 5)positioned at one extending into the keyboard and connected at itsforward end by the link 155 to the restoring bar arm 113. The rear endof this lever 154 is pivot ally connected to a link 156 which extendsupwardly alongside the frame and has a shouldered end 157 which extendsthrough a hole in the outer end of the locking lever 150 to provide asliding connection which permits the locking lever to swing in thelocking direction under the influence of spring 153 and independently ofthe link 156.

side of the frame and c whereupon the embossing cycle of operation willbe completed including the operation of the register lock to hold thedie carrier.

until the next key is depressed.

' The printing plate blanks B to be embossed are stacked in a supplymagazine H positioned at the left side of the frame (Fig. 1). A longcarriage guide member K extends horizontally across in front of theframe in position to support the printing plate carriage L in relativeoperating relation to the magazine H, the embossing dies, and theejecting and inserting magazine J. The printing plate carriage L has aframe plate 160 (Fig. 1a), positioned above the guide bar K and on itsinner side the carriage frame has grooved rollers 161 which engage theedges of the guide bar K to support the carriage on said guide bar. Thecarriage has a finger piece 162 by which the operator may convenientlyshift the carriage on said guide bar throughout its range of movement.At the ends of the guide bar are reels, such as 163, and around which abelt or band 165 is stretched. The carriage is fastened at 164 to thebelt and the reel 163 is spring actuated in a well-known manner. In thepresent instance, the spring reel urges the carriage L to the righttoward the ejecting mechanism J and the operator shifts the carriage tothe left against the tension of the spring reel.

The guide bar K supports, on its upper side a shift bar 166 which has aplurality of headed bolts 166' (Fig. 2) extending through and operatingin the diagonal slots 16'? in the guide bar K so that when the shift baris moved longitudinally the diagonal slots cause it to also movelaterally. The printing plate carriage frame 160 has a subframe 168having sliding movement in guideways in the frame 160 to shift theprinting plate blank relative to the embossing dies to position theblank for upper or lower case letters and this shifting movement isradial with respect to the die carrier. The sub-frame has rollers 169'which extend through clearance slots 169 and engage the edges of theshift bar 166 so that said bar 166 shifts the sub-frame when operated.Thus, although the shift bar 166 has a diagonal movement due to theslots 167, the resultant movement of the sub-frame 168 is in a directiontransverse to the longitudinal axes of the guide bar K and is thereforeradial to the die carrier.

The printing plate blank is normally held in position to receive thelower case letters but when the shift key 6 is depressed it swings thearm 84 from the position shown in Fig. 6a into that shown in Fig. 6b.The arm 184 when so moved swings an arm 170 and rotates the sleeve 171on which it is carried. The sleeve 171 is mounted on a stud 1'72 havinga flattened end portion 173. The sleeve 171 has a segmental extension174 which normally holds another lever 175 against rotation. When thesleeve 171 is rotated, its segmental end portion 173 releases the lever175 and this lever rotates the shaft 176 on which it is mounted.Rotation of shaft 176 swings an arm 177 having a lateral projection 178at its upper end and engaging a pin 1'79 on the shift bar 166. Arm 177nor- The die carrier into position to receive lower case letters. nowremains in non-rotating or idle condition mally holds the shift bar 166against the tension of spring 180 (Fig. 2) in position for lower caseletters but when the arm 177 is swung it permits the shift bar to moveto the inner ends of the diagonal slots 16'7.' Upon retraction of theparts, the springs 85 and 181 (Figs. 6a and-6b), the arm 170 is restoredand this swings the arm 17'? and restores the shift bar to the outerends of the slot 167 thereby withdrawing the printing plate blank fromposition to receive upper case letters back The pin 1'79 has ananti-friction roller and the lateral end 178 of the arm 177 issumciently long to adapt it to the diagonal movement of the shift barand still maintain contact between the pin 1'79 and lever 177.

The printing plate blanks B are gripped at one edge by-a vise 182 (Fig.1b) which is mounted on the line shift plate 183 that is slidablymounted in suitable guideways in the sub-frame 168 to enable theoperator to shift the printing plate blank relatively to the embossingdies for line spacing of the characters. A spring 184 normally holds theline shift plate in position to receive the first line to be embossed onthe printing plate. By pressing on the finger piece 185, the operatorcan shift the blank into position to receive the second, third, or othersubsequent lines of characters. The line shift plate is held in itsdifferent posi tions by the spring catch 186 engaging notches 187 on theunderside of the line shift plate corresponding to the line spacing. Thevise 182 comprises two members, the upper of which is made of springmaterial and has a sharp knife-like gripping edge. This vise yieldinglygrips the edge of the printing plate blank and the vise is pivoted at188 whereby it can be swung upwardly should the operator desire toremove a blank. The printgagement with the blank until the carriagereaches the limit of its-movement in this direction. When the carriagemoves in the opposite direction, the blank is extracted from themagazine and moved into position to be embossed. In embossing positionthe toothed rack 201 engages an escapement mechanism 202 (Figs. 1a and4) which may be of any suitable type for the purpose and need not befurther described except that it is controlled by the keys through thelink connection 203 for the purpose of shifting the carriage to spacethe characters in line on theblank being embossed.

After finishing the embossing operations, the operator releases thecarriage from the escapement mechanism and the spring reel shifts thecarriage to the right to position the embossed blank with respect to theejecting and inserting mechanism J whereupon this mechanism is operatedin the manner described in the application of which this" application isa division and the newly embossed plate is inserted into a frame. WhileI have illustrated and described a selected embodiment of my inventionit is to be understood that this is capable of variation and.modification and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precisedetails set forth but desire -to avail myself of such changes andalterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

I claim: 1. In a printing plate embossing machine, the combination of arotatable die carrier having a series of sets of complementary embossingdies, means for rotating said die carrier, a plurality of keys and meanscontrolled thereby for stopping the rotation of the die carrier, meansoperable when any one of said keys is depressed for holding the diecarrier against rotation, and means operable when the next key isdepressed for releasing the die carrier from said holding means. I

2. In a machine for embossing printing plates, the combination of arotary die carrier having two concentric series of complementary sets ofdies, means for rotating the die carrier, a plurality of keys and meanscontrolled thereby for stopping rotation of the die carrier, meanscommon to said keys for holding the die carrier against rotation betweensuccessive actuations.

of said keys, a mechanism for operating the dies in one series, amechanism for operating the dies in the other series, means foreffecting operation of either of said die operating mechanisms andcontrolled by the keys, and a shift key and means operated thereby forrendering operative one or the other of said die operating mechanisms.

3. In a machine for embossing printing plates, the combination of arotatable die carrier having an annular series of sets of complementaryembossing dies, means for rotating said die carrier, a stop armrotatable with said die carrier, a plurality of key actuated stops forengaging the stop arm to stop the rotation of the die carrier with thedies in embossing position corre sponding to the actuated key, meanscommon to said keys for holding the die carrier against rotation in theintervals between successive actuations of the keys, and means operablewhen the next key is depressed for releasing the die carrier from saidholding means.

4. In a machine for embossing printing plates, the combination of arotary die carrier having a plurality of embossing dies, means forrotating said die carrier, key controlled means for stopping the diecarrier in position corresponding to the depressed key, means foroperating the dies in said position, a register stop for engaging thedie carrier to hold the die carrier against rotation, a locking devicefor preventing the release of the die carrier from the register stopuntil the succeeding key is actuated, and means common to all of thekeys for actuating the locking device to release the die carrier fromthe register stop when said succeeding key is operated.

5. In a machine for embossing printing plates, the combination of arotary die carrier having a plurality of embossing dies, key controlledmechanism for stopping the rotation of said die carrier, restoringmechanism for restoring a key controlled stop after each stoppingoperation thereof, a holding device responsive to the de-- pressed keyfor holding the die carrier against rotation after having been stoppedby said key controlled stopping mechanism, and means for releasing thedie carrier from said holding device upon the succeeding depression of akey to render the rotation of the die carrier subject to the stopmechanism controlled by said succeeding key.

6. In a machine for embossing printing'plates, the combination o ,.arotary die carrier having two concentric series of sets of complementarydies representing upper and lower case characters, mechanism foroperating the dies in one series, mechanism for operating the dies inthe other series, operating keys for controlling the operation of eitherof said die operating mechanisms, and a shift key and means operatedthereby for shifting the control of said keys from one to the other ofsaid die operating mechanisms.

7. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a die carrierhaving two annular series of embossing dies representing upper and lowercase characters, operating mechanism for dies of these series, keyoperating mechanism for controlling said die operating mechanisms, shiftkey mechanism for shifting the control of said keys from one to theother of said die operating mechanisms, a carriage for the printingplate to be embossed, and means responsive to said shift key forshifting the carriage relatively to said dies to position the printingplate for upper or lower case characters.

8. The combination of a rotatable die carrier having concentric seriesof dies representing upper and lower case characters, key operatingmechanism for controlling the operation of the dies in either of theseries, a shift key for determining which of the series of die shall beoperated, a carriage for holding the printing plate in position to beembossed by said dies, and means responsive to the shift key forshifting the carriage for positioning the printing plate relatively tothe upper or lower case dies.

9. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a rotatabledie carrier having upper and lower case character embossing diesarranged in concentric series, a carriage for the printing plate movablerelatively to the die carrier, means on said carriage for shifting theprinting plate radially to the die carrier to position the plate foreither series of embossing dies, a shift key and means responsivethereto for operating said plate shifting means in the carriage.

10. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a rotatabledie carrier having upper and lower case character embossing diesarranged in concentric series, a carriage supporting frame positionedadjacent said die carrier, a printing plate carriage movable along saidsupporting member, means on the carriage for shifting the platerelatively to the series of dies for upper or lower case embossingoperations, an operating bar on the supporting frame for operating saidplate shifting means in any position which the carriage occupies on saidsupporting frame, and key controlled means for operating said bar.

11. In a machine for embossing printing plates, the combination of arotary die carrier having a series of sets of embossing dies, means forrotating said die carrier, a plurality of keys and means controlledthereby for stopping the rotation of the die carrier, operable means forperforming an embossing operation and for retracting the dies after saidoperation and operable upon stopping of the rotation of the die carrierby the means controlled by the keys, means operated by the actuation ofa key for holding the die carrier against rotation between successiveactuations of said keys, and means for effecting an embossing operationwithout causing rotation of the die head and operated by depression ofthe same upon successive operations of the machine.

12. In a machine for embossing printing plates, the combination of arotary die carrier having a series o1 sets of embossing dies, means forrotating said die carrier, a plurality of keys and means controlledthereby for stopping the rotation of the die carrier, operable means forperforming an embossing operation and for retracting the dies after saidoperation and operable upon stopping of the rotation of the die carrierby the means controlled by the keys, means common to said keys forholding the die carrier against rotation between successive actuationsof said keys, and means for operating said operable means withoutrotating said die carrier when the same key is depressed upon successiveoperations. 13. 'In a printing plate embossing machine, the combinationof a rotatable die carrier having a series of sets of complementaryembossingdies, means for rotating said die carrier, a plurality of keysand means controlled thereby for stopping the rotation of the diecarrier, means operable when any one of said keys is depressed forholding the die carrier against rotation, releas- 1 ing means operablewhen the next key is depressed for releasing the die carrier from saidholding means, and means for effecting an embossing operation withoutcausing rotation of the die head when the same key is depressed uponsuccessive operations.

14. In a printing plate embossing machine, the combination of arotatable die carrier having a series of sets of complementaryembossing, dies, operating means for actuating said dies to perform anembossing operation, means for rotating said die carrier, a plurality ofkeys and means controlled thereby for stopping rotation of the diecarrier, means operable when any one of said keys is depressed forholding the die carrier against rotation, means for actuating saidoperating means when movement of the die carrier is interrupted by themeans controlled by the keys,

means operable when the next key is depressed for releasing the diecarrier from said holding means, and means actuated by said operatingmeans for restoring a depressed key.

15. In a printing plate embossing machine, the combination of arotatable die carrier having a series of sets of complementary embosingdies, operating means for actuating said dies to perform an embossingoperation, means for rotating said die carrier, a plurality of keys andmeans controlled thereby for stopping rotation of the die carrier, meansoperable when any one of said keys is depressed for holding the diecarrier against rotation, means for actuating said operating means whenmovement of the die carrier is interrupted by the means controlled bythe keys, means operable when the next key is depressed for releasingthe die carrier from said holding means, means actuated by saidoperating means for restoring a depressed key, and means for actuatingsaid operating means when the same key is depressed on successiveoperations without rotating said die carrier.

16. In a machine for embossing printing plates, the combination of arotary die carrier having a series of sets of embossing dies, means forrotating said die carrier, a plurality of keys and means controlledthereby for stopping the rotation of the die carrier, means common tosaid keys for holding the die carrier against rotation betweensuccessive actuations of said keys, operating means for operating saiddies to perform an embossing operation and controlled by said keys, andmeans controlled by said keys for rendering said operating meansoperative without an intervening rotation of the die carrier when thesame key is depressed upon successive operations.

17. In a machine for embossing printing plates, the combination of arotatable die carrier including a spindle and having an annular seriesof sets of complementary embossing dies, means for rotating the spindleof the die carrier, a clutch for directly connecting the spindle to therotating means, a stop arm rotatable with said die carrier, a pluralityof key actuated stops for engaging the stop arm to stop the rotation ofthe die carrier with the dies in embossing position corresponding to theactuated key, means common to said keys for holding the die carrieragainst rotation to render said clutch inoperative in the intervalsbetween successive actuations of the keys, means for retracting said keyactuated stops when said die carrier is held against rotation in theinilziervals between successive actuations of the eys.

18. In a machine for embossing printing plates, the combination of arotatable die carrier having an annular series of sets of complementaryembossing dies, means for rotating said die carrier, a stop armrotatable with said die carrier, a plurality of key actuated stops forengaging the stop arm to stop the rotation of the die carrier with thedies in embossing position corresponding to the actuated key, meanscommon to said. keys for holding the die carrier against rotation in theintervals between successive actuations of the keys, means forretracting said key actuated stops when said die carrier is held againstrotation in the intervals between successive actuations of the keys, andmeans actuated by operated parts in the machine during the time the diecarrier is held against rotation in the intervals between successiveactuations of the keys for repositioning an operated key subsequent toactuation thereof.

19. Ina machine for embossing printing plates, the combination of arotatable die carrier havin an annular series of sets of complementaryembossing dies, means for rotating said die carrier, a stop armrotatable with said die carrier, a plurality of key actuated stopsforengaging the stop arm to stop the rotation of the die carrier with thedies in embossing position corresponding to the actuated key, meanscommon to said keys for holding the die carrier against rotation in theintervals between successive actuations of the keys, means forrepositioning an operated key after actuation thereof, and meansactuated by operated parts in the machine during the time the diecarrier is held against rotation in the intervals between successiveactuations of the keys for operating the repositioning means.

20. In a machine for embossing printing plates, the combination of arotary die carrier having two concentric series of sets of complementarydies representing upper and lower case characters,

mechanism for operating the dies in one series,

mechanism for operating the dies in the other series, operating keys forcontrolling the operation of either of said die operating mechanisms, ashift key and means operated thereby. for shifting the control of saidkeys from one to the other of said die operating mechanisms, and meansfor locking the means operated by the shift key in position to causeoperation of the dies in one of said concentric series and adapted to beunlocked upon actuation of said shift key.

21. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a diecarrier having two annular series of embossing dies adapted to formembossages on a blank, supporting means for the blank, an operatingmechanism for operating the dies, a key actuated mechanism forcontrolling the operating mechanism, selecting means for impartingmovement from the operating mechanism to the dies, means normallypositioning said selecting mechanism to operate the dies of one of saidseries, means for shifting the selecting means into position to causeoperation of the dies of the other series, and means for shifting thesupporting means for the blank upon shifting of the selecting means tothereby align the proper portion of the blank with the dies to beoperated.

22. In a machine for embossing printing plates, the combination of aspindle, a rotatable die carrier fast to the spindle and having anannular series of sets of complementary embossing dies, means forrotating said spindle, a slip clutch connecting the spindle to therotating means, a stop arm rotatable with said die carrier, a pluralityof key actuated stops for engaging the stop arm to stop rotation of thedie carrier with the dies in embossing position corresponding to theactuated key, said slip clutch permitting opera tion of the rotatingmeans when the die carrier is held against rotation, operating meansrendered operative upon the positioning of dies in embossing positionfor operating said dies to perform an embossing operation, and meanscommon to said keys for holding the die carrier against rotation in theintervals between successive actuations of the keys, said slip clutchreconnecting the rotating means to the spindle when the means common tothe keys is rendered inoperative upon the succeeding operation of themachine.

23. In a machine for embossing printing plates,

the combination of a rotatable die carrier having an annular series ofsets of complementary embossing dies, means for rotating said diecarrier, a stop arm rotatable with said die carrier, a plurality of keyactuated stops for engaging the stop arm to stop rotation of the diecarrier with the dies in embossing position corresponding to theactuated key, operating means rendered operative upon the positioning ofdies in embossing position for operating said dies to perform anembossing operation, and means for rendering said operating meansoperative without an intervening rotation of the die carrier when thesame key is depressed upon successive operations.

24. In a machine for embossing printing plates, the combination of arotatable die carrier having an annular series of sets of complementaryembossing dies, means for rotating said die carrier, a stop armrotatable with said die carrier, a plurality of key actuated stops forengaging the stop arm to stop rotation of the die carrier with the diesin embossing position corresponding to the actuated key, operating meansrendered operative upon the positioning of dies in embossing positionfor operating said dies to perform an embossing operation, means commonto said keys for holding the die carrier against rotation in theintervals between successive actuations of the keys, and means forrendering said operating means operative without an intervening rotationof the die carrier when the same key is depressed upon successiveoperations.

CECIL C. MCCAIN.

